Electric shears



R. o. HOOKER ELECTRIC SHEARS May 5, 1953 Filed Feb. 15. 1952 Inventor ,PA y 0. Hay/(5g Attorney Patented May 5, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ELECTRIC SHEARS Itay 0. Hooker, San Fernando, Calif.

Application February 15, 1952, Serial No. 271,803

8 Claims.

This invention relates to a novel construction of electric shears r scissors.

A primary object of the present invention is to provide an electric shears or scissors havin a single manualy actuated control for stopping, starting and regulating the speed of a motor and for causing the blades of the shears to be actuated by an element connected to the motor shaft, and wherein the extent that the shear blade is moved by the eement connected to the motor shaft will vary depending upon the speed that the motor is driven.

Another object of the invention is to provide a control unit wherein the motor can be initially started and operated at a low speed without actuation of the blades by the parts connected to the motor shaft to relieve the motor of the load imparted thereto in actuating the shear blade during the starting of the motor and the initial acceleration thereof.

Another object of the invention is to provide an electric shears wherein the element connected to the motor shaft will function to move the shear blade, actuated thereby, to an open position and to thereafter permit the shear blade to return under a spring biasing action to a closed position, the extent that the shear blade is swung toward an open position increasing as the speed of op-- eration of the motor increases.

Another object of the invention is to provide an electric shears or scissors including a movable shear blade which is spring urged to a closed position limiting the possibility of damage to the shears in the event that the blades strike an obstruction preventing completion of the cutting stroke.

Still a further object of the invention is to provide an electric shears of extremely simple construction which may be manually supported in one hand and manually controlled with the thumb or finger of the hand supporting the shears to vary the speed of operation of the shears and the extent of opening of the shears.

Still a further object of the invention is to provide an electric shears which is extremely compact yet which will be sufiiciently durable for efiiciently accomplishing its intended results.

Various other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter become more fully apparent from the following description of the drawing, illustrating a presently preferred embodiment thereof, and wherein:

shears as the parts will appear when the shears r is in operation;

Figure 2 is a top plan view partly in horizontal section thereof;

Figure 3 is an end view of the shears looking from left to right of Figures 1 and 2;

Figures 4 and 5 are cross sectional views of the shears taken substantially along planes as indicated by the lines 44 and 55, respectively, of Figure 1;

Figure 6 is a perspective view of the motor shaft cam;

Figure '7 is a plan view of the stationary shear blade, and

Figure 8 is a plan view of the movable shear blade.

Referring more specifically to the drawing, the novel electric shears in its entirety is designated generally [0 and includes a hollow handle portion ll forming a casing and support for the parts. The hollow handle or casing I I is preferably cylindrical in cross section and includes an elongated barrel l2 which is closed at one end by a cap 13 and at its opposite end by a cap l4. The caps I3 and M are preferably substantially hemispherical in shape and are preferably connected by screw fastenings IE or otherwise as by a press fit connection at the joints I5 of the barrel and caps.

A pair of supports I! are mounted Within the barrel [2 and secured thereto by fastenings F8 in longitudinal alignment. The supports I! are secured to longitudinal spaced portions of the casing 19 of an electric motor 20 by additional fastenings I8 for mounting the electric motor 20 longitudinally in the casing I0 and substantially axially thereof. The motor 20 is provided with an armature shaft 2| extending from the forward end of the casing 19 having a distal portion 22 of noncircular cross section extending into the cavity of the front cap 13.

The rear cap it is provided with a boss 23 through which encased portions of a pair of electrical conductors 24 and 25 extend. The conductor 25 is connected to one of the contact posts 25 of the electric motor 213. The conductor 24 is electrically connected to a blade 27 forming the variable contact of a rheostat, designated generally 2B. The Winding 29 of the rheostat 28 is supported by a curved arm 3%] and is connected to one end of an electrical conductor 3 I, the opposite end of which is connected to the other motor contact 25a. The arm 38 is suitably secured to the inner surface of the barrel l2 and extends inwardly therefrom. The rheostat blade 2'! constitutes one arm of a bell crank 32 which is pivotally mounted at its apex at 33 on a bracket 34 which is secured to and extends inwardly from a portion of the barrel l2. The other slotted arm of the bell crank 32 is longer than the arm or blade 21 and extends forwardly from the pivot 33. A push button or head 36 is disposed externally of the barrel I2 and has a neck 3'! extending from its inner side slidably and nonrotatably through an opening 38 of the barrel l2. A crosshead 39 is formed on or secured to the inner end of the neck 31rand is disposedllongitudinally of the casing H. A bar ill extends transversely across and is secured within the barrel 12 between the forward end of the electric motor 28 and the crosshead 39 and provides a seat for onetend of an expansion spring i i, the opposite end of which bears against the inner side of'thecrosshead' 39 to urge the crosshead, neck?! and head .36 outwardly with respect to the barrel E2. The brace 40 and crosshead 33 are provided with teats lfi which project therefrom into the ends of the sspring i i l {to LYSiSt distortion coil theispring when compressed. A pin 43 which projiectsrfromzthe rearrend'of tliescrosshead Efirslidably engages: to

slot of thelc-el rank-armltil.

cured tolthe barrel r2 :adja- -rcent its "forward end iandz'provides 1a 1 supportrf or -.a.'shaft ":Wwhich is disposed transversely IJGf the barrel forwardly of the crosshead 39:. A bellcrank i6 v.is jo'urnalled :at iitstapex :ion the. shaft a t-5 land has a rearwardly extending slottediarm Whithe- :slot of which is islidab'ly 'enga'ged fby Ia pin 48 which is fixed to and projects laterallyifrornithe '.f'orward-.-tend.ofZthe crosshead 39. A cam is slidably and non-turnably mounted on the nonlcircularsishait ap'ortion 3222101 turnin movement with thernmtor-shait 2 i: and for isliding'movenient relatively iithereto. cami ifi -is providedenth arounded eccentric portion 58 whichii's largerat 'the rear s end cir-sai-d carn ahd-which diminishes :toward and terminatesrearwardly of'the for-ward :endofthecarn. ihflie forward end porticn of he ca-in which is substantially "circular is protilied :withnn annular on-twardly opening groove 5 i to receive ii the i forkedor bifurcate'd distal end 2'52 of the other, longer :arm 53 6f the ibell -'-crank ti? #that extendsdownwardlyforwardly from the shaft ii: and which is curveddownwardly.

"The -'front eap ts has an elongated slot 54 formed in the: centralportion thereof and isprovided th: arr internally thickened portion ii disposed inwardly-of said slot fi i*and'p-artiallyin alignment therewith. A stationary shear blade 56 is provided with a "transverse shank 5i i at its inner end which abuts against a Wall :58 Lo'f the i nlargement and=whichis securedzthercto by Tfastenings 5-9 whichextend through openings "66 in the ends of the *shank *5? and which are anchored'in'the enlargement fifi. "The blade-55 is thus supportedat' its inner end withinthecap H3 'with the blade "portion 6| thereof extending outwardly through the slot'54.

A movable'shear blade-52 is provided with a transverse shank fiil at its inner end which, like 't-he shank-"5i projects transversely from the cuttingedge of said blade. The shank 63 is provided twithvasingle opening 64 intermediate of its ends which is positionedin alignmentwith an intermediate-opening $50'fthe shank W to receive a 'iast'ening 6? which extends through the open- :ings S4'and'65 and is anchored in the enlargemen'tfifi to pivotally'mount the blade 62 in the capi-ii an'dwith theblade portion'thereof extend- .ing outwardly-through and being swingably dis- ".p0sed:inTthe zslotfi i. The shank 63 is provided at ,itszfree .end with an :extension .6 which is offset rrelatively zto thexblade .nportion E8 of the movable shear blade 62 and which extends in a direction away from the blade portion 68 and inwardly of the cap it. The outer edge of the extension 61 is provided with a notch 88 and said extension terminates therebeyond in a restricted stem TU. A roller H is journalled on the stem l0 and is retained thereon by a collar 12. One end of a leaf spring "#3 is secured against a portion of the innerxside of the barrel-iiZsbytfastenings M. The spring l3 extends longitudinally of the barrel l2 and has an upwardly curved free end 75 which "engages the notch 58, said spring except for its r-secured end being spaced from the wall of the barrel i2 and cap E3. The spring it is relatively 'strongandthe free end thereof is spring biased toward the axisvof the barrel to exert a thrust against the extension El to cause the blade 52 to :swingon its pivot 63 in a counterclockwise direction, as seen in Figure l, so that the cutting edge 33asof the blade 82 iiill move acrossthe'. cuttin edge 65a of the blade--55ior executingiashearing ior cutting strok-eof theishearubla'de. flaw-cuttin edges em tile beingiormed byatheibladel por- :tions 2 5i being bevelled Ion icppositer sides thereof as is COllVGlltlOllfil:ll'l'1SClSSO1S andsshea'rs. "From the foregoing Iitwill :be readily/apparent that the Spring-"E3 -will normally .rnoveithe .biade lt'to a closed position.

'It'will' bezunderst-ood thatithe covered portions of 'the conductors "2-4: and :25 which extend .iouta outwardly displaced position of the-parts llfiflii'l,

39,-the bell crankf46 is turned counterclockwise from its positioniof .Figure 1 -sothat its 'arm 53 is swung rearwardly 'or' to Y the right to displace i the "cam 49'v inwardly on the shaft poi'tion ZZ toward the motor-'20 so that'the cam-will'not engagethe zroller "H. The operator grasps the hollow hanidleior casing ll "with either ihand asmrferred xiand while' 'thus supporting the lectricshearslll may conveniently press -the "thumb of the hand supporting the shears against the hea'd-or button 3fiito'displace thepartsiififdl and3'9-in-wardly of the barrel E 2. As the crosshead 39 -movesin- =.wardly'thebell crank 32 is-rocked'counterclock- -wise thereby and 'the bell crank '46 "is 'rocked clockwise. "This movement of the 'bell crank "46 causes the fork 5'2 of i the arm bate-displace the cam 49 forwardly toward' itsposition'of Figure '1. Howeven beiore the-cam 4 9 is 'm'ove'd sufficiently so "that its eccentric portion "-50 "can engage the roller' l i, therheostat blade? lw'illhave swung counterclockwise 'suihciently toward its position oflFigure'l' to 'energizeth'e'electricmotor Y213 and :to permit 'SllfilCiEl'lt -'current to "pass ;through the rheostat z 8 to partiallyaccleratethe motor before the'motor shelf-till is place'dvun'der load, as will hereinafter 'be described. Further inward movement of the 'crosshead'fifl by-continued pressure onthe head'or button- 36 will infcrease r the acceleration or the 1 motor Eli and will result in the cam 49 being displaced'-'forwardly sufficiently so that as said cam revolves with the shaft portion 22 the eccentric portion 50 will strike the roller H with each revolution of the shaft 2i to swing the blade 62 clockwise, as seen in Figure 1, on its pivot 66 to an open position as illustrated in Figure 1. This will also load the spring it so that when the eccentric portion 58 moves out of engagement with the roller M the loaded spring 13 will forcibly swing the blade 62 in the opposite direction or counterclockwise, back to a closed position of the shear blades for executing a cutting stroke. In view of the taper of the eccentric portion 5i! away from its rear end, it will be apparent that the further the crosshead 39 is displaced inwardly of the barrel I2, the further the cam 39 will be moved forwardly of the barrel, and it will be readily apparent that the further the cam 49 is moved forwardly the further the blade 62 will be swung toward an open position since the roller 'nl will then engage the larger rear portion of the eccentric 50 which is located more remote to the shaft portion 22 than the forward part of the eccentric 56. Likewise, the further the blade 62 is swung toward. an open position the more the spring 53 will be loaded and to overcome this spring resistance the motor is further accelerated by the blade 27 being moved from left to right of Figure 1 relatively to the rheostat winding 29 as the cam 39 is displaced forwardly.

It will thus be apparent that the single manually actuated push button control 36 functions to initially energize the electric motor 20, to accelerate the motor for controlling the speed of operation of the movable shear blade 62 and additionally for varying the extent of opening of said shear blade. It will also be noted that the power for the cutting stroke of the movable blade 62 is furnished by the spring 13 so that no damage will result to any of the parts should the cutting edges of the blades strike an obstruction through which the blades could not cut resulting in the blade 62 failing to complete its movement to a closed position.

Various modifications and changes are contemplated and may obviously be resorted to, without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as hereinafter defined by the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A power operated shears comprising a hollow handle, an electric motor contained therein having a rotary driven shaft extending toward one end of the housing, a stationary shear blade secured to and projecting from said housing end, a movable shear blade pivotally mounted in and extending from said housing end having a cutting edge movable back and forth across the cutting edge of the stationary shear blade when the movable shear blade is rocked in opposite directions about its pivot, a cam having an eccentric portion slidably and non-turnably mounted on the motor shaft for rotation therewith, said movable blade having an extension engageable by the cam eccentric when revolved for swinging the movable blade away from the stationary blade to an open position, circuit controlling means mounted in the housing for energizing and deenergizing the electric motor, a cam actuator pivotally mounted in the housing and connected to the cam for moving the cam toward and away from the movable blade extension. a manually actuated control unit connected to the circuit controlling means and the cam actuator for initially moving the circuit control means to a circuit closing position and for thereafter moving the cam actuator to displace the cam to an operative position when the manual control means is displaced inwardly of the housing, and spring means bearing against the movable blade extension and urging said movable blade toward a closed position.

2. An electric shears as in claim 1, and a spring bearing on and normally urging the manually actuated unit outwardly of the housing for moving the circuit control means to an open position and for causing the cam to be moved by the cam actuator to an inoperative position.

3. An electric shears as in claim 1, said circuit control means comprising a rheostat including a pivotally mounted movable rheostat element connected to the manually actuated unit for varying the amount of current passing through the rheostat to the electric motor.

4. An electric shears as in claim 1, said cam eccentric being tapered in a direction longitudinally of the motor shaft from a rear end of the cam located adjacent the motor shaft whereby the extent of opening of the movable blade will be varied by the extent of movement of the cam on the motor shaft.

5. An el ctric shears as in claim 4, a roller journalled on said movable blade extension and disposed to be engaged by the cam eccentric when the cam is moved to an operative position by the cam actuator.

6. An electric shears as in claim 1, said manually actuated unit comprising a neck extending through a portion of the handle and slidably disposed for radial movement relatively thereto, a head on the outer end of said neck disposed externally of the handle and adapted to be manually engaged and displaced inwardly toward the housing, and a crosshead fixed to the inner end of the neck and disposed within the handle having one end connected to a part of the circuit control means and its opposite end connected to the cam actuator.

7. An electric shears as in claim 6, said part of the circuit control means and said cam actuator each comprising a bell crank having a slotted arm slidably connected to the cross-head.

8. An electric shears comprising a housing, a fixed blade secured therein and projecting therefrom, a movable blade pivotally connected to the housing having a cutting edge disposed for movement back and forth across the cutting edge of the fixed blade when the movable blade is rocked in opposite directions, spring means urging the movable blade toward a closed position, a driven cam having an eccentric portion engaging and moving the movable blade to an open position, means controlling the speed of rotation of the cam, a cam actuator for moving the cam into and out of an operative position, and a manually actuated control unit connected to the speed control means and cam actuator for variably controlling the speed of rotation of the cam and the portion of the cam engaging the movable blade for varying the speed of operation of the movable blade and the extent of opening thereof.

RAY O. HOOKER.

No references cited. 

